Lowering speed limit unpopular idea

The idea of lowering the speed limit from 45 to 30 miles per hour on SR-155 between Electric City and Grand Coulee is a vastly unpopular idea, a Star survey reveals, with 88% of people being against it. However, it may be necessary to lower the limit if a pathway project is to be built at all.

Last week, The Star reported on the possibility of the speed limit being lowered by the Washington State Department of Transportation after a pedestrian pathway is built connecting Coulee Playland to Banks Lake Park between the highway and Banks Lake, on the other side of the guardrail.

Steve Nelson of Electric City’s engineering firm Century West told The Star that it is ultimately the DOT’s decision, and that they will reevaluate the speed limit situation with a path there, but that the city could request the speed limit stay the same or change. 

Asked to respond to the survey showing a negative public response to the idea of lowering the limit, Electric City Mayor Diane Kohout told The Star on the phone on Tuesday that the results don’t surprise her “because people are not informed as to why we’re considering it.”

“The pathway is something the majority of people want,” she said. “But in order to put it in, it may require some of that shoulder area being reduced, meaning the road will be narrower, and traffic would need to slow down some in order to accommodate the pathway.”

She said discussions continue with the DOT about the situation. 

“Once we have some sort of agreement with DOT of what this pathway will look like,” she said, “it’s going to mean one of two things: either we put the pathway in and reduce the speed limit, or let the pathway go if people don’t want to slow down a little.”

She added that the speed limit wouldn’t necessarily reduce from 45 to 30, but maybe just down to 40, and then reduce down to 35 or 30 sooner when heading south into Electric City from Grand Coulee. 

The speed limit on Coulee Boulevard through the main part of Electric City is currently 35, but could possibly get reduced to 30.

The DOT is “considering” lowering the limit with the current path design, Kohout said, but not necessarily leaning towards lowering it.

The pathway could be redesigned to position it closer to Banks Lake, in which case the road wouldn’t need to be narrowed and the speed limit wouldn’t likely need to be reduced.

But the cost of such a design could exceed that of the current funding: a $672,410 grant from the DOT with a 5%, $35,390 match from the city. If the costs were higher, the city council would need to decide whether to spend extra money.

“It’s not in concrete yet and won’t be until everyone has the opportunity to speak their mind,” Kohout said, adding that the city would like to have a public hearing on the topic. 

So the choices may include: a path and a lower speed limit, spend extra money on the path and keep a higher speed limit, or simply not build a path at all. 

The Star’s survey asked only whether people agreed with lowering the limit from 45 to 30 mph, not whether they were willing to give up the popular path idea in exchange for keeping the higher speed limit. 

The survey showed the idea of lowering the speed limit is very unpopular among people of Electric City and the Coulee area as a whole. 

Out of 91 respondents, 80 (88%) were opposed to the idea of lowering the speed limit, while 11 (12%) were for it. 

Out of 38 Electric City residents who responded to the survey, only five, or 13%, want the speed limit lowered.

“45 just feels like the right speed in that area,” one Electric City respondent commented. 

“There have been people and bikes walking and riding that highway for many years at the 45 MPH speed limit,” another respondent wrote. “There hasn’t been anyone hurt and since I’m one of those people that walk I know for a fact that it’s not a problem. … It’s not broken so stop trying to change it.”

“With a fence on the lake side and guard rail between walkers and vehicles there’s no reason to lower the speed,” another said. 

Many commenters felt things were already safe for pedestrians and bicyclists, and that the pathway would simply make it safer, thus no need to lower the limit.

One person noted a lower limit would slow response times for emergency vehicles. “‘This is also the route taken by Fire/ EMS personnel trying to get to the [Grand Coulee Fire Department] so they can man apparatus and respond. Slowing them down degrades EMS responses.” 

On lowering the speed limit to allow ATVs to drive the road, one resident said, “changing to accommodate those carts and atv’s is not taking care of the entire community.”

“Just because someone bought an ATV it shouldn’t be forced on the majority,” another wrote.

“There is no good safety reason to lower the limit,” another said. “45 MPH is a very natural speed on that stretch for all but one weekend of the year, when a temporary speed reduction is understandable and typically used. 30 MPH would be unbearable on this light traffic stretch of road, and would need to be constantly enforced. … The vast majority of users on that stretch of 155 use automobiles and should not have to endure an unreasonable speed limit reduction because a tiny minority of people who on occasion prefer to use their ATVs instead of their cars.”

Another respondent suggested they build the path to accommodate the carts. 

Fifty-six respondents say they drive the route daily, 30 weekly, and five drive it monthly or less.

Four say that they walk or bike the route daily, 11 said weekly, and six said monthly.

Out of those 21 pedestrians and bicyclists, four of them are for lowering the speed limit.

“It makes sense to have one speed between cities,” one person wrote. “I am a walker too, some vehicles fly by me.”

“45 mph is too fast,” another wrote. “Especially past Coulee Playland full of campers, or North Dam park with vehicles turning, and when pedestrians and bikers are using the shoulder of the road. And, some people think [of] 10 mph over the speed limit as a normal driving speed so I’ve been passed on that stretch while driving the speed limit.”

Another pedestrian disagreed. “It is not populated, it is not congested. I walk it every day and the speed isn’t what makes me feel unsafe — it’s people on cell phones, being inattentive.”

Other comments about wanting to lower the limit reference wanting ATVs to be able to drive the highways, safety concerns, and continuity in the speed limit. 

“I see many people walking and cycling along the highway, many more than the article indicates, and in times of heavy tourist influx, we need to be mindful of that,” one comment reads.

CORRECTION: We misquoted Electric City Councilmember Cate Slater last week. She considers driving the 45 mph stretch of SR-155 as her “poor man’s tune-up,” not “tuna” as we incorrectly heard it.

We apologize for the error, councilmember.